Drugs and Art: Practically Synonymous

Our recent assignment to research the life of author Ken Kesey as part of our preparation for reading One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest revealed a lot of, well, interesting facts.  Most notable and memorable in my opinion was certainly his extensive drug use, which is said to have actually inspired a lot of his fiction novel.  How could somebody be so drugged up and write what has become a classic novel?  This question was boggling my mind, but then I realized something.  Think about the majority of popular music released anywhere from about 40-50 years ago all the way up until today.  Think about some of those artists: The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, The Grateful Dead, Jimi Hendrix, to today's Kid Cudi.  Drugs have influenced some, if not all the music these musicians have created.  Some even sing about it and talk about it interviews.  Think of the cliche "sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll."  Whether it's marijuana, acid, alcohol, or anything in between, drugs have more or less produced many of the past's and today's popular music.  But the ironic thing about all this? It's all POPULAR MUSIC.  In one way or another, most of it is good.  Some of these groups and musicians are classic and timeless, and the co-producers of a large majority of their work were drugs.  So I guess it really shouldn't come as a surprise how much acid influenced this book.  It's definitely an awkward discussion, but nonetheless, these are the facts.